If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R.R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire. Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart—and yet leave you all the richer for it. Contents: - Tough Times All Over by Joe Abercrombie (a Red Country story) - What Do You Do? (aka The Grownup) by Gillian Flynn - The Inn of the Seven Blessings by Matthew Hughes - Bent Twig by Joe R. Lansdale (a Hap and Leonard story) - Tawny Petticoats by Michael Swanwick - Provenance by David Ball - The Roaring Twenties by Carrie Vaughn - A Year and a Day in Old Theradane by Scott Lynch - Bad Brass by Bradley Denton - Heavy Metal by Cherie Priest - The Meaning of Love by Daniel Abraham - A Better Way to Die by Paul Cornell (a Jonathan Hamilton story) - Ill Seen in Tyre by Steven Saylor - A Cargo of Ivories by Garth Nix (a Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz story) - Diamonds From Tequila by Walter Jon Williams (a Dagmar story) - The Caravan to Nowhere by Phyllis Eisenstein (a Tales of Alaric the Minstrel story) - The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives by Lisa Tuttle - How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman (a Neverwhere story) - Now Showing by Connie Willis - The Lightning Tree by Patrick Rothfuss (a Kingkiller Chronicle story) - The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother by George R.R. Martin (a Song of Ice and Fire story)
Author
George Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin, born on September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, is a distinguished fantasy and science fiction writer. Son to Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and Margaret Brady Martin, he grew up with two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten. Martin's passion for writing emerged early, selling monster stories to neighborhood kids, which later evolved into a keen interest in comic books during his high school years, where he also started writing fiction for comic fanzines. His first professional story, The Hero, was sold in 1970 at age 21 and published in Galaxy's February 1971 issue. After earning a B.S. and then a M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Martin served as a conscientious objector with VISTA, tied to the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation from 1972-1974, alongside directing chess tournaments and teaching journalism. His marriage to Gale Burnick in 1975 ended in divorce by 1979 without children. Martin transitioned to full-time writing in 1979, after a stint as writer-in-residence at Clarke College. In Hollywood, Martin contributed to Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast on CBS, later producing his own pilot, Doorways. Residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he's been actively involved with the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and the Writers' Guild of America, West.
